Call by Dept. of Education for Promising and Practical Strategies

A perfect opportunity has been created for educators to share promising and practical strategies to increase postsecondary success, transfer, and college graduation through the U.S. Department of Education. Please read further how you can share what works with your students and programs with your colleagues nationally. While it is the middle of the academic term and you no doubt have more than a full work load, do not miss the chance to influence other educators and policymakers with what you know for making a difference and demonstrate how your profession has the expertise to increase college success rates. The priority review deadline for submission is April 30th.

The U.S. Department of Education announced at its College Completion Symposium and posted to the Federal Register on January 30, 2012 a Request for Information (RFI) for any person or organization to share with them strategies for increasing college completion that may then be made available through a special web site created by the Department. Submissions received by April 30, 2012 receive priority consideration for dissemination. Click on the following web link for the complete announcement published in the Federal Register, https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/01/30/2012-1963/promising-and-practical-strategies-to-increase-postsecondary-success#p-3

It is important in your proposal to stress the unique features of your activity or program. For example, while many schools have a tutoring or mentoring program, what is novel about yours? How are your credit-hour courses different than others? These are some of the questions the RFI asks for the submissions to address.

The Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education (http://cehd.umn.edu/jandris/) based at the University of Minnesota has volunteered to provide several free hour-long webinars in the near future to share suggestions for completing a submission with examples from others that have already have or in process of completing their document. Announcements about these webinars will be posted to this blog page soon. Based on the regulations from the published announcement in the Federal Register, click on the following web link for suggestions by a Jandris Center staff member for the submission: http://www.besteducationpractices.org/storage/pdf-documents/Summarized%20RFI%20Announcement.pdf

For more official information and technical assistance with the submission, contact Dr. David Soo at the Department of Education, (202) 502-7742, david.soo@ed.gov Information about the Jandris Center is available at http://cehd.umn.edu/jandris/

Webinar Update on Developmental Education Practices for Counselors, Faculty, and Student Affairs Staff

On October 28, 2011 I conducted a webinar with faculty and staff at Austin Community College (TX) on a wide range of current topics confronting the field of developmental education. I began with an overview of what I thought were the forces at work on the field, both good and bad. I especially focused on the recent event in Ohio banning developmental-level courses at public four-year institutions. Previously postings to this blog explained my thoughts on this issue recently.

Following an overview of the trends impacting the field, I moved into the heart of the webinar with identifying promising and best practices of developmental education applied to counselors, faculty members, and student affairs staff. Go to the top menu bar in this web site and click on "my talks" and then click on "narrated PP presentations." This webinar is the first presentation listed. A handout of the key slides from the webinar is the next item. You can also reach this web site by clicking on this sentence. Your comments are welcome.

Asst Secretary Ochoa Promotes Best Practices

Recently Assistant Secretary of Education Ochoa addressed the national leaders of federally-funded TRIO programs concerning priorities of the Secretary of Education's Office. Among topics in his speech were the need to identify, validate, and disseminate (IVD) best practices of TRIO programs. Following is part of a news report of his speech that concerns IVD.

“In TRIO programs, students are empowered to perform and succeed and there are many promising programs that demonstrate that fact,” he said, pointing to the Upward Bound summer program at the University of South Carolina as an example. Through the program, graduating high school seniors can take a college-credit research methodology course taught by one of the university’s professors.

“We know that TRIO programs work. But in this age of accountability, knowing that these programs do well is not enough,” Ochoa said. “We will need to develop a body of evidence that both quantifies the impact and cost effectiveness of these programs and that can demonstrate that effectiveness to legislators, policymakers and the public.” The Education Department plans to enhance existing data collection activities to measure outcomes and impact, help identify best practices and disseminate the results to all its grantees. (emphasis mine).

“To improve student outcomes, we need to spur the field to come up with innovative solutions to address the completion challenge and improve higher education productivity, build evidence of what works through rigorous evaluations and scale up and disseminate those strategies that prove successful,” he said.

Source: Jones, Joyce. (2011, March 8). Ochoa Hails Catalytic Impact of TRIO Programs on K-12 Level. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://diverseeducation.com/article/14862/

It is good to see public statements such as this by the Department of Education. I have been advocating for such an  approach for nearly twenty years. Before budget  cuts in the mid 1990s, the Department funded the National Diffusion Network (NDN). It was responsible for identifying promising and best practices, vigorously validating them regarding effectiveness, and disseminating those validated programs with the rest of the education community. I directed the national Supplemental Instruction program which was the only higher education program validated by the NDN. We already have a proven formula for IVD through a similar process used by the old NDN. It is time to get started again with IVD. I am working with a regional education association to conduct a pilot test of IVD with education programs located within a geographical region. Check back with this blog for updates on the progress.

Too Many Students Trapped in the Blender of Developmental-Level Courses

Following is a report from City College (SF, CA) about the enormous time and resources spent by students with completing years of developmental-level course sequences before enrollment in college-level courses. Much of the students' Pell Grants will have been exhausted by the time the prerequisite course sequences are completed. It is no surprise of the dismal college graduation rates. Studies consistently report the number one reason for college drop outs is financial. Few investigate WHY the students are having the financial problems. It is easy to assume that it is simply "the economy" and pass it off as unavoidable. The following report identifies a courageous college trustee that weathers the wrath of the faculty when he proposes shortening the sequence to A YEAR rather than nearly TWO YEARS of prerequisite developmental-level courses.

The story at City College is not unusal. There are other college, too many, that also have extensive developmental-level course sequences. At some institutions, there are SEVEN levels of developmental Enlish or reading courses to complete. Is is a surprise that students drop out. They come to college with hopes and dreams of a college degree leading to a meaingful career with decent pay and stability. Instead, they are trapped by institutional policies and antiquated thinking by administrators and teachers using models from the 1950s for students living in the 21st century.

So what's to do? Here are several action steps:

1. Continue the conversations, coordinations, and articulations between high school exit competencies and entrance skills needed for local colleges that receive many of those high-school graduates. Many college systems are doing this already, but more work is needed.
2. Limit the developmental-level course sequence to no more than two semesters. The levels of these courses should be limited to two, maybe three.
3. Provide intense summer learning experiences for students in need of developmental-level course work to increase their academic skills.
4. Provide better assessment of student acadmeic skills and offer learning modules targeted for specific weak areas rather than requiring everyone to enroll in the same academic term-length course. Not all students need the same set of learnign modules within a course. Uncouple the course and create learning modules.
5. For students with extremely low academic skills in reading, math, and English, experiment with partnerships with local GED centers. This provides a low cost alternative to chewing up the Pell grant funds of the college students in academic term length developmental level courses.
6. Think outside the box. The current system is broken and we can not continue to waste another generation of students and their precious lives. They deserve better than this from us.

At City College, a Battle Over Remedial Classes for English and Math. By CAROL POGASH
At City College of San Francisco, one of the country's largest public universities, thousands of struggling students pour into remedial English and math classes - and then the vast majority disappear, never to receive a college degree.

When Steve Ngo, a 33-year-old college trustee, learned that many minority students, among others, faced two-and-a-half years, or five semesters, of remedial English classes and a year and a half of math at the two-year college, he was shocked into action. His campaign for a one-year sequence of remedial courses ignited a campus furor, with students and a few trustees on one side and faculty members, irate about the intrusion of trustees on academic turf, on the other.

Mr. Ngo's less-than-collegial campaign was expected to prevail. On Thursday night, Don Q. Griffin, the college's chancellor, was to present a proposal for a shortened remedial curriculum, designed to get students into college-level courses more quickly.

While the battle - which Hal Huntsman, the former president of the Academic Senate, likened to a civil war - was about trustees' dictating policies to professors, everyone agreed that the achievement gap, with blacks and Latinos on one side and whites and most Asians on the other, needed fixing.
Some 90 percent of new C.C.S.F. students who take the placement test are unprepared for introductory English 1A; 70 percent are not ready for basic math. There are more remedial math and English classes at the school than college-level classes, the chancellor said.

Learning Assistance Often Ignores Impact of Culture on Learning of Students

Too often learning assistance and developmental education conferences and publications treat the issue of cultural and ethnic diversity as only an issue of demographics and not of pedagogy. Decades ago it was believed that sensitivity in this area was observing and honoring cultural events and including people of various cultures in class materials. This was a good start after that the previous focus only on dominant culture examples.The next step is required in learning assistance, teach multiculturally. WHile this has been widely adopted in education, the learning assistance community is far behind. Following is a good reader to illustrate practical ways to meaningfully engage students of different cultures in the classroom, honor their expertise, and make the classroom a richer and more productive environment for students of all cultures and backgrounds.

Higbee, J. L., Lundell, D. B., & Duranczyk, I. M. (Eds.) (2003). Multiculturalism in developmental education. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Research on Developmental Education, General College, University of Minnesota. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://tinyurl.com/2e5wa23

The first three chapters of this monograph provide models for integrating multiculturalism in developmental education. The remaining chapters focus on conversations related to multiculturalism in developmental education, reported by our colleagues in the General College of the University of Minnesota. The work of these authors reflects the General College's efforts to implement its multicultural mission. The following chapters are included in this monograph: The Centrality of Multiculturalism in Developmental Education (Karen L. Miksch, Patrick L. Bruch, Jeanne L. Higbee, Rashné R. Jehangir, and Dana Britt Lundell); Walking the Talk: Using Learning-Centered Strategies to Close Performance Gaps (Donna McKusick and Irving Pressley McPhail); Creating Access Through Universal Instructional Design (Karen S. Kalivoda); Multicultural Legacies for the 21st Century: A Conversation with James A. Banks (Patrick L. Bruch, Jeanne L. Higbee, and Dana Britt Lundell); Is there a Role for Academic Achievement Tests in Multicultural Developmental Education? (Thomas Brothen and Cathrine Wambach); The Triumphs and Tribulations of a Multicultural Concerns Committee (David L. Ghere); MultiCultural Development Center (MCDC): Sharing Diversity (Ghafar A. Lakanwal and Holly Choon Hyang Pettman); Summary Report on the Third National Meeting on Future Directions in Developmental Education: Grants, Research, Diversity, and Multiculturalism (Dana Britt Lundell); Report of the Future Directions Meeting Multicultural Themes Track (Jeanne L. Higbee and Holly Choon Hyang Pettman); and appendices.

Socially contructed learning spaces rather than instructional technology

I have been thinking about the terms "instructional technology" and "learning technology." They are often used interchangeably by many, includinig myself.  Doing so blurs their distinctions. I have implemented a number of Web 2.0 learning tools within my class: wiki web pages, podcasts, self-create music vidoes on a history topic, etc. Yesterday Brian Fredrickson and I facilitated a conference session on "Social media and learning spaces in schools, work sites, and communities." It was at MinneBar with over 1,000 in attendance. We had a great discussion and many within the audience shared how they use Web 2.0 for learning purposes.

Over the past couple of years, I now understand that my role is creating and facilitating "learning spaces" within the classroom so that students are active participants and co-creators of the class experience and learning outcomes. It is really not about which Web 2.0 technology tool or services that is used, it is the engagement and co-creation by students that makes the difference. It reminded me about the classic Barr and Tagg article from the mid 1990s that identified the shift from a teacher-dirven to a student collaborator learning environment within the classroom.

Barr, R. B., & Tagg, J. (1995). From teaching to learning: A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change Magazine, 27(6), 13-25. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://critical.tamucc.edu/~blalock/readings/tch2learn.htm

This is one of the most often cited articles on this topic and is credited by some as helping to influence higher education significantly since it was published in a journal that is frequently read by college presidents and chief academic and student affair officers. According to the authors, a paradigm shift is occurring in American higher education. Under the traditional, dominant "Instruction Paradigm," colleges are institutions that exist to provide instruction. Subtly but profoundly, however, a "Learning Paradigm" is taking hold, whereby colleges are institutions that exist to produce learning. This shift is both needed and wanted, and it changes everything. The writers provided a detailed matrix to compare the old instruction paradigm with the new learning paradigm in the following dimensions: mission and purposes; criteria for success; teaching/learning structures; learning theory; productivity/funding; and nature of roles.

Mainstreaming best practices of learning assistance and developmental education within first-year courses

Isolated and prerequisite remedial and developmental level courses are on the chopping block. FOr good or bad, the national dialogue argues for their relegation to community colleges and prohibition at four-year institutions. How are needs met for students who still some of the outcomes from such courses? Embedding the best elements into rigorous, first-year courses is a solution. Doing so benefits all students within the courses since all will experience turbulence within the curriculum. Following is an article that describes changes forecast a decade ago.

Damashek, R. (1999). Reflections on the future of developmental education, Part II. Journal of Developmental Education, 23(2), 18-20, 22. Retrieved July 4, 2004 from:  http://www.ced.appstate.edu/centers/ncde/reserve%20reading/V23-2damashek%20 reflections.htm

Interviews were conducted with a number of leaders within developmental education: David Arendale, Hunter Boylan, Kaylene Gebert, Martha Maxwell, Santiago Silva, and Diana Vukovich. The dialogue points to several emerging trends: (a) mainstreaming, (b) removal of developmental education from 4-year institutions, and c) increased professionalism of developmental educators. Mainstreaming developmental education courses into college-level, graduation-credit programs of study fits into the paradigm of learning assistance and enrichment for all students. The participants in the discussion were unanimous in proposing a comprehensive academic support program that would include elements such as a learning center, adjunct or paired courses, Supplemental Instruction, tutoring, student assessment, and program evaluation. Boylan advocates funds for professional development and Gebert proposes faculty, student, and staff recognition whereas Silva includes academic advising, counseling, career services, mentoring, and especially faculty training in his list of important program components. Arendale and Vukovich propose a complete paradigm shift away from the medical model to learning support for all students. By deferring to Maxwell’s (1997) latest book Improving Student Learning, Vukovich gives Maxwell credit for providing insight into best practices based on years of experience and the best research resulting in the recommendation of a comprehensive learning assistance model. the value of such a model is that it is more easily integrated into the academic process because it is understood as service for all students. This model is not burdened by the stigma of serving only the least able students, who, for many academic, administrative, and political leaders, are seen as a drain on the institution’s academic standards.